Wednesday, January 29, 2014

29 January 2014 nine mile skid

Cassi Creek. My
presence was required at VA this morning.

There was
about 5 inches of newly-fallen snow when I took Loki outside. The road was un-plowed and slick. I allowed over an extra hour for the
trip. The main road was plowed and
salted, resulting in large ribbons of slush on the sides of the road and in the
center of the road.

About four
miles into the drive, some idiot in a tractor trailer rig came barreling around
a curve, taking his half of the road out of the center. I could see the cloud of slush he was pulling
along. I flipped the wipers on, into
full speed operation just as he tore past me.
The windshield was instantly covered in slush, which instantly froze to
my windshield.

Of course, it
was cold enough that the washer fluid was frozen and I was instantly reduced to
seeing the road and traffic through smears on the windshield. It didn't help matters that I was driving
into the rising sun and into a black ice area where a fatality had occurred Monday
morning. It was a real relief to pull
into VA and turn the Pathfinder off. It
is still covered with frozen slush.

Just before I
left this morning I received reminder call, notifying me of an 0800 appointment
Friday morning. I’ve also got to take my
hearing aids in to be worked on in the hope that they will re-evaluate the type
of aid I need.

At least, the
forecast for Friday predicts high temps above freezing, so I can find a car
wash and clean the road salt and grime off the Pathfinder